Titan to Cut Jobs, Close Stores

Titan Machinery announced it will be closing seven of its construction stores and reducing its construction-related headcount by 11.7 percent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015.

April 11, 2014

Titan Machinery announced it will be closing seven of its construction stores and reducing its construction-related headcount by 11.7 percent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015.

The company will close construction stores in Bozeman, Big Sky and Helena, Mont.; Cheyenne, Wyo.; Clear Lake, Iowa; Flagstaff, Ariz.; and Rosemount, Minn. Titan will also consolidate an agriculture store in Oskaloosa, Iowa into an existing Titan agriculture dealership.

The company will also have staff reductions at other dealerships and reductions in support staff at its Shared Resource Center. Overall, the realignment, combined with other staff reductions, will amount to a total of 4.5 percent of the company's total headcount. The closing and severance costs related to this realignment will be realized in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 and are anticipated to be approximately $4.2 million pre-tax or $0.12 per share.

"We are confident the realignment we are implementing during the first quarter of fiscal 2015 will position our Construction segment for improved pre-tax profits and enable us to better serve our Construction and rental customer base going forward,” said David Meyer, Titan Machinery’s chairman and CEO. “While we are not satisfied with the recent overall performance of our Construction business, the changes we are making will enhance the overall performance of this segment.”

Titan announced the reductions and closings in its report of financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, 2014. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, revenue was $708.6 million, compared to $784.5 million in the fourth quarter last year. Equipment sales were $587.9 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to $679 million in the fourth quarter last year. Gross profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 was $97 million, compared to $104.5 million in the fourth quarter last year.